Avionics Systems Engineer (All Levels)

Astrolab; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity ownership

Comprehensive health benefits

401(k) plan with company match

Flexible PTO and parental leave

Weekly lunch stipend

On-site social hours

Job summary

Astrolab, The Lunar Operations Company, seeks an Avionics Systems Engineer to own the vehicle-level electrical architecture for planetary rovers. You will define requirements, interfaces, and verification plans while collaborating with mechanical, software, and thermal teams.

Responsibilities include leading architecture trades, documenting interfaces, and ensuring robust, fault-tolerant avionics that operate in lunar environments. Entry to staff levels are considered based on experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field is required.
• Experience with aerospace component or system development, testing, integration, or operations is expected.
• Experience with electrical test equipment and interpreting electrical schematics is required.

Responsibilities

• Define avionics system architecture and electrical architecture at the vehicle level, including power distribution and data networks.
• Lead design trades and sensitivity studies to select robust architectures.
• Create and maintain technical documentation and own electrical interfaces between avionics units and ground systems.
• Develop verification plans and coordinate tests with hardware, manufacturing, and test engineers.
• Support assembly, integration, and test, and assist with lunar surface operations.
• Assist in anomaly resolution using fault tree and fishbone analysis to manage avionics risk.

Skills

System architecture

Requirements writing

Trade studies

Fault tolerance

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Tools

RS-422

RS-485

CAN

Ethernet

Python

C/C++

HIL testing

Job description

Compensation: $100,000 - $230,000 / year

Department: Avionics

Location: Hawthorne, California

Compensation: $100,000 - $230,000 / year

Description

Astrolab is The Lunar Operations Company. We design and build the systems and hardware the lunar economy will come to depend on — rovers, power, and data networks for sustained operations on the Moon. We are focused on the problems that must be solved before the next chapter of human exploration can scale. The Moon does not forgive untested assumptions. The people who work here know that, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

As an Avionics Systems Engineer at Astrolab, you will define the requirements, architecture, and implementation of avionics systems on our planetary rovers. You will own the electrical architecture at the vehicle level, spanning power distribution, data networks, harnessing, and the interfaces between avionics units, and you will represent the avionics team in vehicle-level trades with mechanical, software, and thermal teams. You will serve as Responsible Engineer for avionics system design and performance, carrying it from requirements definition through integration, verification, and operations on the lunar surface. This posting covers entry-level through staff-level positions, and leveling will be commensurate with experience.

What you'll do:

• Architecture & Requirements: Define avionics system architecture and electrical architecture at the vehicle level, including power distribution, grounding, data networks, and harnessing. Write, flow down, and verify requirements at the system and component level
• System Trades: Lead design trades and sensitivity studies to select architectures that are robust, fault-tolerant, and meet mission requirements. Represent the avionics team in vehicle-level trades with mechanical, software, and thermal teams
• Interfaces: Create and maintain technical documentation including system diagrams, schematics, interface control documents, procedures, and test and anomaly reports. Own electrical interfaces between avionics units, payloads, and ground systems
• Verification & Test: Develop design verification, qualification, and acceptance test plans, and coordinate with avionics hardware, manufacturing, and test engineers to execute them. Help develop and operate HIL testbeds to verify functionality before vehicle integration
• Integration & Operations: Support assembly, integration, and test (AIT), write and execute vehicle-level electrical functional validation procedures, and support launch campaigns and lunar surface operations
• Anomaly Resolution: Support integration testing, production issue dispositions, and troubleshooting of failures, using root cause techniques such as fault tree and fishbone analysis, and manage overall avionics system risk

What you'll bring:

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) related field
• Experience with aerospace component or system development, testing, integration, or operations
• Experience with electrical test equipment including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, signal generators, electronic loads, and multimeters, and the ability to interpret electrical schematics

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with spacecraft or launch vehicle avionics systems design, development, production, test, and operations
• Experience with requirements writing, flow-down, and verification using systems engineering tools and processes
• Experience performing trade studies and sensitivity studies to select the best architecture option
• Experience with spacecraft power system engineering, including power budgeting, distribution, and grounding architecture
• Experience with digital communication protocols and vehicle networks including RS-422, RS-485, CAN, or Ethernet
• Experience with HIL testbed system development, and programming in Python, C, or C++ for test and automation
• Familiarity with FMECA, fault tolerance and isolation design, and failure modes of spaceflight electrical components
• Familiarity with SMC-S-016, MIL-STD-810, or other environmental testing standards, including shock, thermal, burn-in, TVAC, vibration, and EMI/EMC testing
• For senior and staff levels: experience leading development of avionics architectures for current and future vehicles, developing schedules and system-level test and operations plans, and mentoring engineers

Benefits and Perks

• Join a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
• Equity ownership in the company
• Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Flexible PTO and parental leave
• Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on-site
• Once a month social hour on-site with food and drinks